Been lurking for the last year or so, finally decided to join.

So, my truck went to the dealership this week to get the EGR and oil coolers replaced. It had been puking white smoke on cold starts, losing coolant, and occasionally puking coolant. Now, when i say puking coolant, it just leaked a little bit out of the cap and never made it farther than the area around the cap itself.

When I got the truck back I noticed they only filled it to below the minimum mark, so I called them and asked about that. I was told that you can't fill it all the way due to the coolant expanding which would lead to it puking and that it may have air in the system which may take a few miles to work itself through till it gets to normal level. So I've now put about 100 miles on it since I've had it back and it did return to a slightly normal level (just above minimum mark). Today, I popped the hood to check the oil and noticed that it had puked coolant except it was worse this time. Coolant had leaked all around the cap and around the edges and down the front of the tank as well as splatter on the underside of the hood and driver side battery. And to add to this series of events, I was driving home earlier and checked my coolant when I pulled in the driveway to see if the level had changed or it puked again. Well, no puking but my coolant is almost non existent and there were no obvious signs it had puked again. I've since checked things out and it hasn't left it's mark on my driveway. When I left my friends house, it was just above the minimum mark. This has me baffled.

Apparently they test drove it after the repairs and everything was good to go. As far as the coolant not being filled all the way, I'm calling BS on that because since I've had this truck the coolant level has never once fluctuated even while towing my 18ft landscaping trailer with mowers. I'm wondering if I've been jerked around on this.

Any input on this would be great. Thanks

BTW, truck is a '06 250

 

Welcome to FTE sharkhunter2018

I assume you still are under warranty? The coolant system is closed, the tank is not a reservoir but an expansion tank, and the minimum line is correct. Since the repair was made, it will take time to purge air from the system.

Clean the effected area, refill to minimum line and closely monitor what happens next. If more puking is evident, contact your service department.

 

Mine had the same symptoms and it did end up with blown head gaskets. Changed under warranty, thankfully.

 

Hmm. I'll probably end up taking it for a long drive today and see what it does. Couple years back a friend of mine had a 250 and it developed the same symptoms...just like you mentioned, Ed.

Either way I really hope they have gone or will go. It's still under warranty.